In my master's thesis, I discuss complex developmental trauma, focusing particularly on how professionals from three different fields—social welfare, healthcare, and education—evaluate their knowledge and competence in dealing with trauma, what they believe would help deepen their understanding, how they assess the availability of training on trauma, and the systemic arrangement of counseling and support in the area of trauma. In the theoretical introduction, I write about the types and definitions of trauma and its consequences, heavily relying on studies of adverse childhood experiences. I also touch upon support for children and adolescents with traumatic experiences within the Slovenian public system and reflect on the importance of trauma knowledge for social work. Towards the end of the theoretical section, I discuss the education of professionals and how the field of social work intersects with healthcare and education. I conducted a mixed-methods study, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Using an online questionnaire, I gathered 187 responses from professionals across Slovenia. Based on these responses, I developed guidelines for focus groups, which included eight professionals (two from each of the three studied fields), selected through a purposive non-probability sample. My findings reveal that professionals across all fields believe they have limited knowledge of complex developmental trauma and do not feel adequately competent to work with trauma. They agree that additional training on trauma is needed and that the current offerings are insufficient. Additionally, financial constraints limit participation in further training, meaning that professionals often have to bear the cost themselves. The analysis of the survey responses also indicates that professionals gained the least knowledge about complex developmental trauma during their university studies. Additionally, it was found that participants who graduated from our faculty also believe that they acquired little knowledge on this topic during their studies. A significant challenge highlighted by professionals in education and social welfare is the staffing shortage, leading to overburdened employees. The heavy workload, bureaucracy, and broad range of tasks greatly impact the quality of their work, with some experiencing feelings of helplessness. On a positive note, many professionals recognize the importance of understanding complex developmental trauma and are eager to learn and train in this area. While the systemic arrangement of counseling and support has room for improvement, focus group participants acknowledge several positive aspects of the Slovenian system, including the diversity and range of services that provide support and help, and a well-developed social security system. Through my research, I discovered that participants feel they have limited knowledge about complex developmental trauma but are willing to change this through additional training and education. The biggest obstacles are financial constraints and workplace overload. These challenges, in my opinion, could be addressed systemically by reducing service waiting times, providing accessible training for professionals, alleviating overburdened staff, and incorporating trauma knowledge into university curricula.
|
